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2014 World Rally Championship - Top Five Locations for Wales Rally GB

Written by The Wales Cottage Holidays Team on
Thursday 19thJun 2014

The Ceremonial Start for Wales Rally GB, the final round of the 2014 World Rally Championship, will be at 6.30pm on Thursday 13 November at Eirias Park Stadium, Colwyn Bay in North Wales. There is free access and it will feature a pre-event autograph session.

The Rally takes place in North and Mid Wales with 23 Special Stages totalling some 191 miles (308 km) from Friday 14 to Sunday 16 November with the Ceremonial Finish on Mostyn Street in Llandudno at 1.20pm. Gartheiniog will be the first Stage of the Rally on the Friday; the same route as last year, it has everything from tight technical corners, fast open sweeping roads, big climbs and steep downhill sections.

14.5km of pure challenge for competitors, Gartheiniog is north-east of Machynlleth, south-east of Dolgellau; the first car is due at 7.44am. In the same area, the Dyfi Forest is the venue for Stage 2. This also follows the same route as for 2013 when it made a return to Wales Rally GB in its full length 22km format after an absence of 15 years.

This iconic special stage, situated high in the shadow of the Snowdonia mountains, is sure to be a driver favourite; wide roads with an excellent surface and long sweeping corners make for a fast stage which should deliver excellent viewing.

One of the highlights of the Saturday will be Stage 12 at Dyfnant (located south-east of Llanfyllin) featuring 20.5km of classic forest roads with a mixture of long fast stretches with wide sweeping bends, hairpin turns and tight technical sections to start and finish. It will be similar to the stage held there last year but reversed; the first car is due at around 10.10.

Also on the Saturday, the Rally returns to Chirk Castle which is located close to the A5 south-east of Llangollen and provides a stunning venue for the RallyFest. Aimed at those spectators who are new to rallying or who are looking to spend the day in one stage location, the RallyFest provides a wide range of facilities and day-long family entertainment for all ages.

As well as seeing the stars and cars in action on a 2km stage (first car due at noon), this event will include a big screen, catering village, public address commentary, special displays and other attractions. Sunday morning features two new stages in the forests of Mynydd Hiraethog around the Alwen Reservoir and Llyn Brenig located off the A5 between Llangollen and Betws-y-Coed to the north of Cerrigydrudion. These stages will be used twice with the first cars due at 8.35am on the first run and 10.55 for the second; the re-run at Brenig will be a Power Stage.